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Athletes have all been in this situation. They either have a large foot cast or have injured themselves pretty badly, which then interferes with a sport. Oftentimes, athletes know that something like this would have happened, but they are frustrated and angry with themselves for getting it this bad. They are out of whatever sport they play for at least a month and cannot do what they do best.

“My injuries made it difficult to get around,” said Joshua Kasper, a sophomore baseball player at Hoffman Estates High School.

Injuries are bound to happen, one way or another, especially in sports. Athletes either sprain a bone or break it. They think they’re being safe, but in reality they miss a special safety step and it caused them to be out of the sport for a few months because they have injured themselves.

Missing that important safety step causes certain athletes to mess up during their game and anger and frustration overtakes them. Student athletes can’t do what they want to do because they totally messed up, and this time, it was a bad mess up.

People typically deal with a minor sprain or the pull of a muscle. But sometimes, people have major concussions, broken bones, even a broken neck or an open fracture, injuries only seen in the emergency room.

Those who have been injured pretty badly have dealt with the pain of an injury, as well as the pain of not being able to practice with teammates and not being able to play a scheduled game against an opposing team.

Being injured doing what you love to do is really frustrating and stressful. Thoughts can rush through your head about the pain the injury is causing, as well as the anger for having an injury.

Kasper has dealt with many injuries, involving a torn labrum, which is attached to the shoulder socket and helps keeps the joint in place, as well as a broken leg and a torn ACL.

Due to these injuries, he could not do his favorite activities and he was out of all sports for a while.

Most of the times, it’s really hard for being stay focused and continue to do what you have to do. For example, taking notes for an important class or simply trying to figure out the homework.

“All I could think about was the pain I was in and I wasn’t able to stay focused and learn what my teachers taught me,” said Kasper.

For some, a past injury can affect certain daily activities that people do now.

Bethany Walters, a sophomore, has been in cheer for about 7 years. One of her major injuries was a concussion, which affected her in and outside of school. The easiest tasks became the hardest and she became more stressed.

“My performance at school was affected. I couldn’t take tests or do homework for about a month. The month I came back, I had to do double the work,” said Walters.

Getting a concussion is possibly the worst injury someone can get as you can very easily get another one, after previously having one.

The simplest of tasks can become the hardest and can also become an even bigger hassle for people to accomplish.

“I have to be more cautious and have to avoid doing things in which I can once again injure my head, including not listening to music, using any technology or being in a class that might be too strenuous on my brain,” said Walters.

For many, having a sports related injury can increase motivation. It makes people learn to go from being weak to becoming stronger.

Lily Garay has been playing soccer for a while and she recently has been spraining her ankle, over and over again.

“Spraining my ankle over and over again doesn’t bring me down, instead it makes me want to play more because of how much I love the sport,” said Garay, a sophomore at Hoffman Estates High School.

Loving a sport includes being committed to it 100%, as well as putting your best effort towards doing what you love.

There is always an opportunity for all sports to have a required amount of safety and precaution.

“The best way to prevent injuries from occurring while involved in a sport is to provide proper education, equipment and proper shoes,” said Jen McLirath, a substitute nurse, who works full time in the emergency room at Alexian Brothers.

Always remember that almost everyone has been injured in sports, or currently is injured. But being injured doesn’t mean that it should stop you. Coming back from an injury will make someone stronger because you know how to protect yourself more and there’s excitement to getting back to playing again.